stowe



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet -1.

B. L. STOWE.

KNITTING MACHINE. N0. 3Q ,16. 55 Patented Nov. 20 1888.

i H w H DI "I 1 q \q A '1 (NoModeLj 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. B. L. .STOWE.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 20,1888.

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I I I I 5 I I I I l I I I I I I I I I I I I N. PETERS. PrmwIIIII w.WIISIIIII M nu:

UNrrnn, STATES PATENT Erica.

BENJABLIIN L. STOWE, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOUR'IHS TO J. VAND. REED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,186, dated November20, 1888.

Application filed November 30, 1887. Serial No. 256,558. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN L. STowE, of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Knitting-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is an improvement uponthat which is the subject of myapplication for Letters Patent for an improvement in knittingmaehines,filed August 3, 1885, Serial No. 173,408, renewed January 9, 1888,Serial N 0. 260,220, and has reference to the feeders or feedinghookswhich pass the knitting-thread through the series of longitudinalstrands to be incorporated into the fabric and bring the saidknitting-thread out into position to be taken by the knitting-needles.The machine described in my aforesaid application is characterizedmainly by the combination,with the guiding devices for the longitudinalstrands, the knittingthread-delivering mechanism, and knitting-needlesarranged and operating substantially parallel to the position of saidstrands, of reciprocatory feeding-hooks or feeders which pass theknitting-th read through between the strands and deliver it to theneedles. The machine itself described in said application is one forknitting a single-ply fabric in which the looped stitches appear on oneface only of the fabric.

Mypresent improvement embodies the same general combination as that juststated, but is designed for the production of a multiply fabric, and onein which the looped stitches may appear on both faces or sides of thefabric. Such a fabric contains two or more concentric (if a tubularfabric) or parallel (if a straight fabric) series of longitudinalstrands, and a number of knitting-threads, as well as weft or fillingthreads, if desired. I arrange the knitting-thread guides in differenthorizontal planes, placing those whose threads are to appear on one sideof the fabric in one plane and those whose threads are to appear on theother side of the fabric in another and different plane. I also'employtwo sets of knittingneedles--one on one side and the other on the otherside of the fabric-and I so form the reciprocating feeders that whenthey pass through between the longitudinal strands in one direction theywill carry with them all the knitting-threads that lie in one plane anddeliver them to one set of needles, andwhen they return or move throughthe longitudinal strands in the opposite direction they will carry withthem the knitting-threads that lie in the other plane and deliver themto the other set of needles.

The nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is or may becarried into effect will be readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in whieh- Figure 1 shows in sectional elevationso much of a knitting-machine for a tubular fabric as needed to explainthis improvement. Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged and distendedcross-sectional views of portions of a tubular fabric, intended toillustrate diagrammatically the manner in which the improvement is to becarried into effect. In Fig. 2 the right-hand portion represents thefinished fabric,while in the left-hand portion the knitting-thread loopsare still upon the knitting-needles. In Fig. 3 the heads of the innerand outer sets of knitting-needles are shown, and a sufficient num- 75her of the feeders or feeding-hooks are indicated, both to show theposition which they occupy with relation to the longitudinal strands andthe needles and to illustrate the manner in which they operate inconnection with the knitting-threads to deliver selected loops of thesame to the inner and outer sets of needles, respectively.

Referring to Fig. 1, B is the outer needlecylinder carrying the Verticalreciprocatory knitting-needles a.

B is the inner needle'cylinder carrying the vertical reoiprocatoryknitting needles a. The knitting operation is performed by these twosets of needles, and the knitted fabric passes between these twocylinders. These sets of needles are placed and operated substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal strands 5, of which there are, in thisinstance, three concentric sets,supplied in the customary way throughsuitable guides, 5 5, which are shown typically at X in Fig. 1.

Above the knitting-needles, and at right augles to them, are thehorizontal reciprocatory feeders X. The needles,as well as the feeders,100

are placed opposite the spaces intervening between the longitudinalstrands,as in my aforesaid application.

The outer set, a, of needles may be operated in the manner usual incircular-lmitting machines producing a tubular fabric within the circleof needlesthat is to say, by means of a rotating cam-cylinder encirclingthe needlecylinder B and engaging the heels of the needles a,- and theinner set, a, can be operated in the manner usual in circular-knittingmachines producing a fabric upon the outside of the needle-cylinder, thearrangement of mechanism for this purpose being similar in a general wayto that shown in Patent No. 27,430, of March 16, 1860, for operatingneedles in the needle-cylinder inside of the fabric produced. Mechanismsfor this purpose are well known, and, forming no part of my presentimprovement, do not require illustration. The feeders X, one of which isshown in Fig. 1, are arranged and operated precisely inthe same way andby the same means as shown and described in my aforesaid application forLetters Patent. There are four weft-depositing arms, 0, one for eachweft-thread 2, said weft-threads alternating with the rows oflongitudinal strands 5. Each arm 0 is attached to a shuttle-ring, D,there being as many concentric rings 1) as there are weft-depositingarms. These shuttle-rings are supported on guides I), attached to theframe of the machine, and are driven in unison with one another and inproper relation to the needle and feeder actuating mechanism by means ofpinions F, mounted on the driving-shaft G and engaging circular racks Hon the shuttle-rings. Each weft-thread 2 is led, as usual, from a bobbinon the shuttlering through a suitable tension-regulating device, (notshown,) whence it passes to and through a guide-eye, b, at the lower endof its depositing-arm 0. Each of the two intermediate rings carries alsotwo additional arms, I J, similar to the weft-depositing arms, exceptthat the arms I are shorter than the arms O, and that the arms J are inturn shorter than the arms I. These arms I J deliver and deposit theknitting-threads 3, which aresupplied to them from bobbins on theshuttlerings in any usual manner. The threads of the arms J, before theyare knitted into the fabric, are thus held in a plane above the threadsof the arms I.

Each feeder X, as in my aforesaid application for Letters Patent, has adownward projectiomw, which is forked or bifurcated, as indicated bydotted lines in Fig. 3, to permit it to straddle the end of theknitting-needle when the latter is raised to take the loop orknittingthread therefrom. This projection differs, however, from thelike lettered projection in my aforesaid application by reason of thearrangement and formation of its edges m a 0. The inner vertical edge,m, is the shorter edge. It extends down far enough only to be in thepath of the knitting-threads of the up per arms, J. The outer and longervertical edge, 12, extends down far enough to be in the path of theknitting-threads of the lower arms, I, and the two edges on n areconnected by the inclined bottom or under edge, 0, which enables theprojection 00' to ride over the lower knitting-threads as the feedermovesinwardly and to engage during this movement; the threads of arms Jonly. v

The reciprocations of the inner and outer needles are so timed withrelation to those of the feeders that the loops of knitting-threaddelivered by the feeders will at the proper times be taken by said innerand outer needles respectively.

Such being the organization of parts, the

mode of operation is as follows: The shuttleriugs in their revolutiondeposit the weft and the knitting threads. At the time the guides forthese threads pass any feeder said feeder is retracted, the outer needleis elevated and about to descend, and the corresponding inner needle isdepressed and about to rise. Just as the guides pass the feeder itcommences to move inwardly. In so doing it rides over with its inclinedunder edge, 0,the two lower threads of guides I, but pushes before it byits inner and shorter vertical edge, m, the two upper threads of guidesJ in the form of loops,which are carried by it to a position in whichthe illner needle, a, appropriate to this feeder can take them. Thisneedle gradually rises as the feeder moves inward, not attaining,however, its highest position until after the bifurcated projection :17is over it,in order that the loops, or rather the bight of the loops,maybe carried beyond it.

The feeder then recedes or moves outwardly, leaving the loops upon theinner needle, a, which will then descend and form its stitch in theusual manner. As the feeder moves outwardly it will engage with itslonger edge, a, the knittin g-threads of thelower guides, I, which itcrowded out of its path during its inward movement, and will in likemanner carry out loops of these two threads and deposit them upon theouter needle, a. This mode of operation is indicated clearly in Fig. 3.In that figure the left-hand feeder (indicated by dotted lines) hascommenced topush inward aloop of the enter one of the two upperknitting-threads, the next has pushed inward loops of both of thesethreads, and so on.

The knitted fabric herein shown I do not here claim, the same being madeby me the subject of a separate application for Letters Patent, SerialNo. 215,763, filed October 9,1886. From the foregoing it will be notedthat the improvement herein described upon the mechanism described andclaimed in my aforesaid prior application for Letters Patent ischaracterized, first, by the fact that there are two or moreknitting-warp guides arranged in different planes in relation to eachother, in combination with inner and outer sets of needles andreciprocatory feeders, which pass through from one side of the fabric tothe other and deliver some of the knitting-threads to the inner needlesand the others to the outer needles, and,

IIS

' secondly, by the fact that the reciprocating feeder is provided with adeflecting face or edge which enables said feeder to ride over aknitting-thread when it moves in one direction and to engage the samethread when it moves in the opposite direction.

Therefore, having described my improvement and the best way at presentknown to me of carryingthe same into effect, what I claim herein as newand of my own invention is as follows:

1. The combination of guides for delivering the longitudinal strands intwo or more eon centric or parallel sets, inner and outer sets ofknitting-needles situated and operating substantially parallel to theposition of the strands, knitting-thread-delivering mechanism for two ormore knitting-threads arranged to deliver knitting-threads in differentplanes, as de-' scribed, and reciprocatory feeders for passing theknitting-threads through said strands and delivering those in one planeto the inner set of needles and those in the other plane to the outerset of needles, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore setforth.

2. The combination of guides for delivering the longitudinal strands intwo or more concentric or parallel sets, inner and outer sets ofknitting-needles situated and operating substantially parallel to theposition of the strands, devices for delivering the weft or fillingthread, knittingthread-delivering mechanism for deliveringknitting-threads in different planes, as described, and reciprocatoryfeeders for passing the knitting threads through said strands anddelivering those in one plane to the inner set of needles and those inthe other plane to the outer set of needles, substantially as and forthe purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. The reciprocatory feeder provided with a thread-engaging edge, at,and a thread-deflecting edge, 0, whereby the feeder during itsreciprocations is caused,when moving in one direction,to ride over thesame knitting-thread, which it afterward engages when moving in theopposite direction, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The reciprocatory feeder provided with the lip or projection 00,having the longer and shorter vertical edges, 12 m, and the intermediatedeflecting-edge,0, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day ofNovember, 1887.

BENJAMIN L. STOXVE.

Witnesses:

HELEN J. STOWE, GEoRo-E A. WIES.

